My Ancient Savior
by netjer ankh
Summary: Bakura saves a young boy from being brutally murdered in an alleyway. But is this young boy maybe a bit too perceptive? How will Ryou react to the discovery that his savior is a three thousand year old thief?
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Yugioh!**

A small cry attracted Bakura's attention to an almost unnoticeable back alley. He crept forward quietly, peering in to see a confrontation between two males, the difference in their size incredibly obvious.

"Please… stop. I-I don't even know you! Why are you doing this?" the smaller one asked, voice filled with fear. He was hunched against the wall, knees drawn up to his chest and his arms positioned over his head defensively. He was bloodied up quite a bit. So much, actually, that you couldn't really tell what he looked like.

The larger man's face was hidden behind his hood, and he was pulling a knife out of his pocket.

The smaller boy started to cry.

"You weren't thinking about using that knife, now were you? I don't take kindly to senseless killing." Bakura walked forward and grinned. "Key word, 'senseless'. I have no qualms over killing you. Poor child," he looked down at the boy on the ground, who was staring up at him with large, teary chocolate brown eyes, the only really distinguishable feature amongst all the blood.

While he was distracted, the stranger with the knife lashed out at Bakura, who bent backwards, the weapon being thrusted right over his face. Bakura straightened up and promptly snapped his neck. The man's body fell to the ground, and the small boy cried out in surprise.

Bakura looked down to see him staring at the dead body with wide eyes.

"You need help?" he asked. The boy gasped and looked up at him. "You need help getting home?" he clarified.

"N-No! I-I'm fine!" he pulled himself into a demented version of a standing position and proceeded to stumble away. He only made it a few feet before he collapsed, unconscious.

Bakura laid the boy on the kitchen counter top before grabbing a rag and wetting it, beginning to wipe the blood off of his face. He started by trying to clean the blood out of the boys hair, which turned out to be white like his. Before he could really start cleaning his face, however, there was a knock at the door before he heard Marik call out.

"Bakuraaaaaaa!"

"What is it, Marik?"

"I got bored, so I came over here! Now open the damn door!"

Bakura sighed. "It's open, idiot."

"…Oh."

Bakura heard the front door open.

"Is something wrong, you never leave your door op- HOLY FRIG! What the hell did you do?" Marik yelled, looking at the unconscious boy with wide violet eyes.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "You always assume I did it. For your information, I saved this boy's life. _What the hell did you do?_ Ra, Marik."

Marik walked closer, eyes still set on the small male. "Well, who is he then? Do you even know?"

"How in the bloody hell would I know who he is? All I know is I killed the man who was going to kill him. And I enjoyed it." Bakura went back to wiping the blood away.

"Um, Bakura?" Marik asked hesitantly.

"What?"

"I think his arm may be broken. Actually, I'm pretty sure it's broken. I don't think it's supposed to do that." Marik cocked his head while Bakura looked at the arm in question. Marik was right, it was bent at an unnatural angle, definitely broken.

Bakura sighed. "Get me a sheet, a knife, and some duct tape, will you?"

"Alright." Marik ran off in search of the items while Bakura clicked the bone back into place. He was glad for his experience with makeshift medicine from his times as the King of Thieves. It certainly came in handy at times like these.

Marik ran back to the counter and laid the desired items out for Bakura.

"Thank you," Bakura told him, before fashioning a makeshift sling for the boy's arm. He then wiped the rest of the blood off of his face. And stared.

If not for all the cuts and bruises, he would be the most beautiful thing Bakura had ever seen. He was older than Bakura had first thought. Not having been able to really see his face, he had thought the boy was very young because of how thin and lanky he was. But now he could see that he was around the seventeen mark, just a year younger than Bakura. Well, the age Bakura appeared to be. He had the same snow white hair Bakura had, down to his shoulder blades, and an innocent face, which would be gorgeous if it wasn't so messed up at the moment.

Marik chuckled, breaking Bakura's train of thought.

"What?" he asked, scowling.

"We're a bit smitten with this boy, aren't we, Bakura?" he teased, grinning.

"Oh, shut up."

"You should be ashamed really, looking at someone so much younger than yourself, you old geezer, you!" Marik chuckled again.

Bakura scowled and whacked him upside the head.

"Ooh, a bit sensitive about our age, are we? You shouldn't get violent, you might break a hip!" Marik cackled.

"Shut your face before I murder you with the knife you delivered to me," Bakura growled.

"Come now, don't be the stereotypical grumpy old man! Let's be the cute grandpa everyone loves." Marik dodged out of the way of Bakura's swinging fist.

"If you weren't my best friend, I'd kill you, you know that, don't you?" he asked.

"I know. I just can't help myself, I have to tease you. It's so easy to get you riled up." he laughed.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Let's get him to the guest room, shall we?" he asked, nodding his head at the boy on the counter.

"Mmm, that might be a good idea."

Ryou's eyes fluttered open. He was temporarily blinded by sunlight, but got used to it after a few seconds. He then realized that he was staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling, and he was laying on a bed. Strange, the last thing he remembered was being beaten in an alleyway… and then that man had shown up, the one with the white hair like his. He had killed the man who was trying to kill Ryou.

Ryou sat up, wincing as pain coursed through his entire body, especially his left arm. He looked down to find his arm in a sling. He was broken out of his train of thought when he heard light snoring to his right. He turned his head to see someone asleep in a chair next to him. The man was blonde, and very tanned, almost exotic looking. He had golden dangling earrings, a golden neck band, and golden arm and forearm bands. He was wearing a lavender shirt that exposed his midriff, and loose black pants. Ryou leaned forward, trying to get a better look at him. It was then that the man woke, opening his eyes. They both yelped and Ryou scrambled backwards as fast as he could with one arm, until his back was to the wall.

The man laughed a little, and put his hands on his chest, as if he had had a heart attack. He then called over his shoulder, "Bakura, our guest's awake!" he turned back to Ryou. "Gave me quite a scare there! I'm Marik. You're name is?" he asked in a strange accent.

"R-Ryou," he answered. He didn't know who this man was, and he didn't know where he was. He was scared as hell.

It was then that the door opened, and in came the man from the alley. Ryou gasped and hunched in on himself, watching with cautious eyes.

Marik frowned and looked at the man from the alley. "Why does he seem to be afraid of you, Bakura?"

Bakura looked at him like he was an idiot. "Maybe because he saw me murder the man who was going to kill him?"

"Oh, well I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that he was awake at that point."

"Marik, the only reason I looked in that alley way was because I heard him cry out."

"Well I didn't know that!"

"Why else would I look in the alley? Did you suppose I just wandered up to it for no reason? Use some common sense, Marik,"

There could have been other reasons you looked!"

"Like what?"

"You could have just happened to look to the side at that moment-"

"Why in the name of Ra, would I not look where I was going-"

"You could have been distracted!"

"By what?"

"I don't know you could have heard something-"

"Like him crying out?"

"Well-"

"You realize you just proved my point for me?"

"I did not!"

"Yes you did! You really are blonde, aren't you?"

"Oh, you did not just go there," Marik shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, I did. You are the epitome of a dumb blonde," he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Say that again and I'll b**ch slap you."

Bakura leaned forward. "Dumb. Blonde."

Marik stood up and pushed his chair back. "That's it, it is friggin' ON!" he struck a fighting stance.

"Marik, I've had many more years of fighting experience than you, it would not be smart on your part to initiate a fight with me."

"You're just scared you'll get you're a** kicked, old man!"

Bakura glared at him. "What did you just call me?" he growled.

Marik grinned. "Oh, did that get under your skin… _old man?_"

Bakura swung at him, and Marik dodged, trying to follow up with a punch of his own. Bakura grabbed his fist, twirled him around, and got him in a chokehold in less than five seconds.

"I give!_ I give!_" he choked, before Bakura let him go. Marik turned as fast as he could and scowled. "I'll beat you someday, I swear it."

Bakura chuckled. "You keep telling yourself that."

Ryou hesitated a second before asking, "Why did you call him 'old man'?"

They both looked at him for a second before simultaneously saying, "No reason."

Ryou decided to let it go. After all, Bakura had killed that guy. Even if the man was going to kill him, that still made Bakura a murderer. Not to mention how easily he did it, as if he had experience. Who knew what could set these two off?

It was then that Bakura walked towards him. Ryou pressed himself against the wall, trying to get as far away as he could.

"His name's Ryou, by the way!" Marik said.

Bakura nodded. "Are you hungry, Ryou?"

The question took him completely off guard. "I-"

Ryou's stomach growled, answering the question for him. Both Bakura and Marik laughed, and Bakura extended his hand.

"Come on, let's get you some food." he smiled.

Ryou hesitated for a few seconds before slowly taking his hand and allowing him to help him out of the bed.

"Aw, now isn't that cute," Marik grinned.

Bakura glared at him. "Piss off, Marik."

"Like I haven't heard that before," he remarked, before walking out of the room.

Bakura shook his head and smiled at Ryou, guiding him out of the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, where Marik was fiddling with the radio.

"What do you want to eat?" Bakura asked, looking at Ryou.

"Oh, uh, I-I don't really care, whatever you have. I don't want you to trouble yourself or anything," Ryou looked down at the floor.

"Don't be silly, you're the guest. What would you like?"

"Yeah, you're wish is his command," Marik grinned over his shoulder.

Bakura scowled and flipped him off. "You're lucky I don't strangle you."

"Yeah, yeah."

It was at that moment Marik made a sound close to a squeal as he turned the radio up. "_Bruises and Bitemarks_!" he exclaimed.

Bakura turned and grinned. "I love that song!" he turned back to Ryou. "Anyway, what about a pancake?" he cocked his head, waiting for an answer.

Marik spazzed. "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! I want one! You're pancakes are the best!" He turned to Ryou. "You're in for a treat!"

_You're in a place for fear, lips are for biting here! _

_Let's make this moment worth the while,_

_Let's kill the night and go down in style!_

"Okay," Ryou agreed.

"Yay!" Marik literally danced over to the fridge, pulling out some milk and a carton of eggs.

Bakura laughed as Marik danced. "You look like a wanker, just so you know."

Marik just pursed his lips and swiveled his hips. This time Ryou laughed too. Both men looked at him for a moment, then burst out laughing again, because it had been so damn cute.

The radio started playing '_Dance with the Devil_', and Marik almost fell down, he started laughing so hard.

"What?" Bakura asked.

"The radio has a mind of its own! I was just dancing with the devil!" Marik laughed, now leaning on the counter.

Bakura scowled and whacked him upside the head. "Bloody bastard. I'm not that bad… am I?"

"Hell yes!" Marik chuckled.

Ryou could tell how close they were. Only the best of friends treated each other like that.

Bakura started mixing the batter for his pancakes and addressed Ryou. "You should probably call your family, to let them know that you're alright. I would imagine they're worried."

Ryou looked down. "Actually, um, my parents, and my little sister, are- well, they're dead. They were killed a few years ago. I live by myself."

Bakura froze.

_Bakura was eight when the Pharaoh's guards came. They forced everyone into an underground chamber, everyone in the village, men, women, and children. He was the only one they didn't get, hidden away in a little alcove. And he was forced to watch the murder of everyone he loved, knew, and cared about. All the High Priests of the Pharaoh had prepared this ritual using dark magic. They had a cauldron, a bubbling cauldron of molten gold. The first few people they tried to force into it tried to run, and were murdered ruthlessly with spears. And when the first person went in, their body melted into gold, their screams fading into nothingness. Every now and then, someone would try to escape, and they would be killed as the first few had been. Then it came to his mother. Bakura watched in terror, silent tears streaming down his face as she resisted, and they threw her in, watching with no regret or shame as her screams died like the others. His father gave up and walked right in. He didn't even scream. Then, eventually, they went for his little sister, poor little Kisara. They carried her, kicking and screaming to the edge, and just tossed her in. They murdered a six year old girl with no remorse. It was hours later that Bakura emerged from his hiding place, all the guards gone, all the people of his village dead. He got back to the surface, to see the ruined remains of his home, knowing that he was alone now. All alone._

Marik grabbed Bakura's shaking shoulder. "It's alright Bakura. You're alright."

Bakura looked at him, eyes wide and vulnerable, before he recovered himself and looked back to what he was doing.

"I-I'm fine. It just hit a little close to home, you know?"

"I know."

Ryou stared, eyes wide. Bakura had lost his family too? Judging by his reaction, it must have been pretty traumatic.

"I'm so sorry, Ryou," Bakura said.

Ryou looked up. "What?"

"You're family. I know what it feels like, to lose everything you care about," he said.

"Oh," Ryou looked at him. "It's nice, to find someone who understands what it feels like, what I go through, every day…,"

"And time doesn't heal old wounds," Bakura finished.

Ryou smiled sadly. "No. It doesn't."

"Ooh, prepare yourself Ryou, for the best thing you'll ever taste," Marik was bouncing in his seat, watching Bakura pour syrup over their pancakes.

"Bloody pancake fan girl, he is," Bakura whispered in Ryou's ear as he set the pancakes down in front of them. Ryou burst out laughing.

"What? What did you say to him, Bakura?" Marik demanded.

"Nothing!" he laughed.

Marik turned to Ryou. "What did he say to you?"

Ryou just held up his hands and shook his head, still laughing. Well, the best he could with one arm in a sling.

Marik growled. "You're both jerks."

That just made the two laugh more.

Marik scowled and took a bite of his pancake, closing his eyes in bliss. He started doing that happy dance people do with their legs when they're enjoying something, but he did it so fast it looked like he was having a seizure. Bakura raised one eyebrow.

"Should I call a doctor?" he asked.

Marik scowled. "Shut up! I would whack you in the face with this," he brandished the pancake. "But I'm not annoyed enough to sacrifice the deliciousness." By then Ryou was already halfway through his pancake, and Marik was right, he had never tasted anything quite so delicious. He paused in caution however when Bakura smirked evilly.

"I'll sacrifice it," he grinned, picking up his own pancake and swinging it at Marik's face, cackling at the satisfying noise it made when it hit his cheek.

Marik slowly turned his head back to glare at Bakura. "Now I'm annoyed enough," he growled, swinging his at Bakura, who squeaked a bit before trying to raise his arms to defend himself, failing miserably as he was assaulted by his own creation.

"Oh, it is on!" he declared, and they began beating each other with their pancakes. Once those were in pieces, they both paused a minute before seeming to get the same idea and lunging for the batter. They both got handfuls and began flinging wet batter at each other, taking cover behind anything and everything as their war played out. They paused, however when Ryou became a civilian causality, and took a glob to the side of the face. Bakura was the one who had thrown it, and he was frozen on the spot, as was Marik, and they were both obviously trying not to laugh, gauging his reaction. Ryou closed his eyes for a second, before lifting his hand and scraping the batter off the side of his head, looking at it for a second before turning and, with no warning, humming it at Bakura's head. He took it full in the face. Marik started laughing hysterically, then choked on his own spit and went into a coughing fit. Ryou started feeling his hair, and deduced that nothing short of a shower was going to get all the batter out of it. Bakura obviously thought the same.

"You're going to have to take a shower to clean that out of your hair, I'm afraid," he had wiped most of the batter off of his face, but he still looked really funny. "I'll just wash my face in the sink, and me and Marik will clean up the kitchen," he said, head swiveling around as he surveyed the damage. Then a thought struck Ryou.

"What about the sling?" he asked.

Bakura looked back at him and thought for a moment before sighing. "I suppose we'll have to undo it, then I'll redo it when you're out of the shower and dressed."

Ryou made a small hum of agreement before furrowing his brow. "Wait, what am I wearing?" he asked, looking down at the oversized t-shirt and sweatpants.

"I had to lend you some of my clothes, yours were covered in blood," Bakura looked down.

"Oh," Ryou blushed a bit before clearing his throat and looking away.

There would have been an awkward silence, if not for Marik, who chuckled. "Must have been traumatic for you, huh, Bakura?" he grinned.

Bakura glared at him. "Marik, I may not be willing to kill you, but I have no qualms over severely wounding you," he growled.

"Shutting up now," Marik said quickly, grabbing a rag and wetting it before beginning to scrub batter off of the counters. Ryou was just confused about all the remarks Marik had been making of that nature. Bakura's reactions only served to confuse him more.

Once Ryou was in the shower and had a fresh change of clothes ready for him, Bakura went back downstairs to help Marik with cleaning the kitchen.

"Did you sneak a peek of him naked?" Marik grinned.

"Marik!" Bakura exclaimed.

"That's not an answer," he teased.

"No, of course not!"

"Did you want to?"

Bakura blushed and fidgeted. "Maybe…,"

Marik cackled and tossed a wet rag to him. "Make yourself useful, why don't you?"

They cleaned in silence for a moment, before Bakura sighed. "Do you think he's gay?"

Marik shrugged. "I don't know. He's certainly girly enough…,"

"Mmm," Bakura hummed. "He is pretty, isn't he?"

"That he is. Did you notice how much you two look alike?" he asked.

Bakura paused for a moment. "I did. It's rather strange, really. He can't be a descendant or anything, given I was too busy with stealing to have a relationship in Egypt…,"

Marik raised an eyebrow. "You never even had an affair?"

Bakura shook his head. A few more minutes were spent in silence before Marik spoke again.

"I don't know why I find that surprising. Maybe just because you were the King of Thieves… the ladies always seem to love the dangerous bad boys, you know?" he chuckled.

"That they do," Bakura agreed. "But you have to remember, most of my time was spent so far out in the desert that nobody could find me. I'm not that alluring, that women would wander randomly in the desert and risk their lives for a chance of finding me. And you know, back then, being an outcast and having to scavenge around in Egypt for your food and water and shelter took up most of your time. Not to mention getting enough sleep to keep yourself awake and aware. You didn't want to be eaten by jackals," he sat down on the counter, the entire kitchen cleaned. "Especially being the King of Thieves. Girls don't like men who might take their jewelry." he grinned wryly and chuckled. "No, I'm not surprised the women in Ancient Egypt didn't want me. I wouldn't have wanted me. I guess I'm just not very narcissistic," he laughed. A couple of seconds later they heard Ryou's footsteps coming towards the kitchen. He walked into the kitchen and smiled slightly at them. "Thanks," he said.

Bakura smiled. "No problem. We should probably redo your cast, huh?"

Ryou had an uncanny ability to walk silently, even when he wasn't trying to. So that might have explained why Bakura and Marik didn't hear him coming, and he accidentally overheard some of their conversation.

He stopped dead at the doorway, peering around the corner when he heard them talking. He knew he shouldn't be listening to what was probably a private conversation, but it wasn't his fault he was quiet, right? Bakura was the first one he could actually hear intelligible words from, now that he was closer.

"…finding me. And you know, back then, being an outcast and having to scavenge around in Egypt for you food and water and shelter took up most of your time. Not to mention getting enough sleep to keep yourself awake and aware. You didn't want to be eaten by jackals," Ryou watched as Bakura sat on the counter, looking around the kitchen. Egypt? What was Bakura talking about, Egypt? And what was this about being an outcast?

"Especially being the King of Thieves. Girls don't like men who might take their jewelry." Bakura grinned wryly and chuckled. "No, I'm not surprised the women in Ancient Egypt didn't want me. I wouldn't have wanted me. I guess I'm just not very narcissistic." he laughed. Okay, we went from talking about being in Egypt to talking about being in Ancient Egypt? And what was this whole 'King of Thieves' thing? Was that some kind of code or something, or was he being serious?

Ryou backed up somewhat, then walked forward again, making sure to make his footsteps loud enough for them to hear before walking around the corner, and smiling a bit, trying to look like he hadn't overheard them. "Thanks," he said, referring to the shower.

Bakura smiled at him, oblivious to his eavesdropping. "No problem. We should probably redo your cast, huh?"

"Here you go, Bakura!" Marik said. "Think fast," he tossed the can of soda across the room, pouting in disappointment when Bakura managed to catch it, popping it open and taking a swig before setting it down and turning back to Ryou, who was sitting on the counter. He took hold of Ryou's broken arm gently, guiding it back into the makeshift sling and fastening the strap over his shoulder.

Ryou couldn't take it anymore. He had to ask. "So… what was all that about being the 'King of Thieves'?" he bit his lip, watching for Bakura and Marik's reaction.

They both froze, eyes widening. They looked at each other fleetingly, casting around for a believable lie before Bakura got an idea and smiled up at Ryou.

"Just an online role-playing game we enjoy. It takes place in Ancient Egypt. My character is the King of Thieves," he explained, and Marik sighed in relief, smiling and nodding. It was then that Ryou noticed something under Bakura's right eye. It was a scar, shaped like a double T. You could barely see it because of how pale he was, but it was there.

"Oh," needless to say, Ryou didn't believe them, but he decided to let it go. He still didn't really know these two all that well, and while they had been nothing but sweet to him, he couldn't help remember Bakura killing that man without remorse. But he did it to save Ryou's life. Did that make it less scary, make Bakura less dangerous? The answer came to him immediately. No, it didn't. He had done it so easily, had dodged that knife with such practice, had snapped his neck with no emotion. While Ryou was pretty sure he liked the Bakura he knew right now, he couldn't help but be a bit scared of what he could do.

Bakura sighed. "If you don't mind Ryou, I'd like you to stay here for a few days. Just so I can monitor the arm, and make sure none of your cuts get infected. I'd also like to make sure there are no problems going on that we can't see right now. But don't take that the wrong way, it's entirely up to you. I'm not going to keep you here against your will or anything," he quickly amended.

Marik leaned in and whispered in Bakura's ear with a grin on his face. "Bet you'd like to try and get some action too, wouldn't you?" he said this softly so that Ryou didn't hear it. Bakura growled and glared at him, making him laugh.

"Coming from the man who hasn't had a date in over three months!" he hissed back.

"Oh!" Marik exclaimed. "That's right, I never told you. Me and Mariku are going out." Bakura almost choked on the swig of soda he'd just taken.

"Y-You and Mariku? How the hell did that happen?"

Marik grinned. "Well you know the hot tub I have in my back yard. I was out there and-" Bakura slapped a hand over his mouth.

"I really don't think I want to know," he told him, shaking his head.

Marik laughed when he took his hand away. "You're right, you don't," it was then that his pocket started singing 'Banana Phone'. Marik looked down and pulled out his cell.

Bakura raised one eyebrow. "That's your ringtone?"

"Yes. Now shut up." he flipped the phone open and answered with a 'Who are you and what do you want?'

He listened for a few seconds before his face lit up.

"Mariku! Speaking of the devil!" he laughed.

Both Bakura and Ryou could hear a male voice respond, "You've been talking about me?"

"Yes. Don't worry nothing bad. I was just reminded that I hadn't told Bakura we started dating. He knows now!" he laughed. "Anyway, what did you want?"

The voice on the other side of the line paused before clearing its throat and saying, "You didn't tell me microwaves could explode…"

Marik face-palmed. "Did you get hurt?"

"Just a little burn on my hand, nothing major, but I thought you would want to know," there was a chuckle. "There were many colors and sparks. Quite a show, really."

"Only you would find this entertaining, Mariku!"

Bakura objected. "Not true. I also find it entertaining," he said.

Marik glared. "You're not helping," he turned his attention back to the phone. "I'll be there in a few minutes. Try not to injure yourself further, alright?" There was a light chuckle before Marik hung up.

"Mariku sounds like quite the handful," Ryou commented.

"He is," Marik sighed. "But he's worth it."

"Is he buff?" Ryou grinned, his eyes sparkling.

"Yes he is. You're gay?"

Ryou blushed and nodded sheepishly.

Marik just waggled his eyebrows in Bakura's direction, grinning. "Well, I better go take stock of Mariku's injuries," he sighed again. "I'll see you guys at some point in the future." With that he walked around the corner, and a few seconds later they heard the door open and close, followed by the sound of a car driving away.

There were a few minutes of awkward silence before Ryou spoke up. "Can we go to the library?"

Bakura eyebrows raised in surprise, elongating his scar. "Right now?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Um, alright. Any particular reason?"

"No, not really," Ryou lied. "I just haven't been in a while, and it's a great stress reliever. For me at least."

Once Ryou was sure Bakura was adequately preoccupied in his own section, he made his way across the library and to the clerk.

"Yes? Can I help you?" the lady asked, looking at him with a bored expression, but a little bit of curiosity appeared when she saw the white hair. But Ryou was used to that, it was unusual after all. Of course, all the little cuts and bruises sparked some interest too.

"Um, yes, do you have any books on Ancient Egypt?" he began to fidget as he waited for a response, looking around to make sure Bakura hadn't come to see how he was doing.

"Yeah, two rows from the last on your right," she said, still looking at him as he turned around to inspect the library around him with a slightly nervous expression. The boy was interesting to say the least. Especially his behavior.

"Thank you!" he smiled and scurried off to the books he wanted. At least he was polite. But she couldn't help but wonder about all those cuts and bruises on his face. So she followed him, out of curiosity. She watched as the boy looked at all the titles, shaking his head at each one until he smiled and pulled one out entitled, 'Thieves in Ancient Egypt'. She had to wonder, what could this boy possibly need to know about ancient thieves?

The boy looked down at the book and murmured to himself. "You can't hide the truth from me, Bakura. Thief King, here I come," he opened the book and started flipping through. The librarian returned to her post and couldn't help but wonder, who was this Bakura?

Ryou flipped through the book for a few minutes before finding a short article entitled 'The Thief King'. Bingo. It really was short, only a paragraph or two long.

_There were many thieves in Ancient Egypt, but the greatest and most impressive by far was the 'Thief King', as he was called by other outlaws, and even citizens of the Pharaoh's court, _Ryou read. His interest was peaked. _What astonished everyone was his ability to seemingly disappear and get past all security measurements with little trouble. By all means, he should've been caught quickly with his distinct features and how often he committed his crimes. But despite his unique appearance, what with his white hair and the distinctive scar under his right eye, which, according to all records archeologists have ever found relating to the man, was shaped like a double crossed 'T', the Thief King was never caught. According to the descriptions in any records that were ever discovered, experts were able to compile what this man probably looked like._

Underneath this short article was a drawing of Bakura. He was tanner and his hair was shorter, but it was most definitely Bakura, there was no doubt. There was the scar, under his eye, clearer because of his darker skin tone. It was the same face, the same eyes. It was Bakura. It was impossible, but it was true. Bakura was the Thief King of Ancient Egypt. There was another short passage underneath the image.

_Some believe that the thief had an ally in amongst the Pharaoh's ranks, some say that he had some kind of ancient magic. No matter the speculations, we do know this. The truth of the legendary Thief King's abilities will never be known, people will never stop wondering, and he will always be a subject of controversy. _

Ryou closed the book and sat in silence, his mind set on hyper drive.

The librarian was still thinking of the young white-haired boy when someone else walked up to the desk.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked, and almost had a heart attack when she looked up. This man was almost identical to the young boy from earlier, save for some slight differences. This man didn't have any cuts and bruises, and he was a bit taller than the little one. His features were sharper where as the other's were more innocent and youthful. But other than that, they were the same. Same white hair, same brown eyes, same pale skin, same lanky, muscular figure.

"Do you know where Ryou is? He looks like me, but a bit younger," he asked in a deeper voice than the other's. The librarian was a bit hesitant, as she didn't know if this man was the one who had given the boy those cuts and bruises. So she stalled a bit.

"May I ask who you are?" she tried to seem like she was just curious, and not worried or suspicious of him.

"My name's Bakura. Don't worry, I'm not the one who hurt him, if that's what you're wondering," he told her, giving a slight smile, as he knew that was what she was worried about.

The librarian's interest was peaked. This was the Bakura the boy had mentioned? What did this man have to do with Ancient Egyptian thieves? It was then they heard Ryou's voice.

"Bakura! You done with your books already?" he smiled and walked towards him, which made the librarian more comfortable. If this man had hurt the boy, he wouldn't be walking toward him so willingly.

Bakura smiled. "Yeah. You?"

Ryou nodded. "Hey, you hungry? I am."

The taller boy shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Ryou rolled his eyes. "Such enthusiasm. Be careful, getting too excited can be bad for you," It was then the librarian noticed that the cuts and bruises she had noticed earlier weren't the only injury he had. His arm was in a sling, too.

Bakura scoffed. "That is so not true."

"Yes it is! You could give yourself a heart attack!"

"That's if you get really scared. Not if you get excited."

"It can happen if you get too excited."

"Then how come I've never heard of it?"

"Because you pay no attention. To anything."

"I pay plenty attention! If I didn't pay attention you'd be dead."

"That's true," the boy mused, nodding thoughtfully. "Wait, what were we even arguing about in the first place?" he asked.

"I don't know!" Bakura laughed. "Whether getting excited could give you a heart attack?"

"Oh yeah. I'm still hungry."

Bakura eyes widened in mock surprise. "It's been a whole minute and you're still hungry?"

"Oh, be quiet, you," he was silent for a moment, and then spoke in a thoughtful manner. "You know, I haven't known you for long, but we get along really well, don't you think?"

Bakura was silent.

"What's the matter?"

"You said to be quiet," he grinned.

Ryou rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

"Fine," the librarian watched as the two albino boys walked away and out the door. _If I didn't pay attention you'd be dead._ The librarian couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that.

_I can't believe this. Bakura's the Thief King. I'm walking down the street with a living piece of history!_ Ryou thought, staring at the man walking next to him. He seemed so normal, not like a three thousand year old thief. This was so surreal, and Bakura had no idea he knew about him. Would he be mad if he knew Ryou knew? He hadn't seemed mad when Ryou had asked in the kitchen. Just worried, even scared. Although, Ryou had to admit, he would be scared too if someone found out _he _was an immortal, three thousand year old criminal from Ancient Egypt. He was broken out of his reverie when Bakura spoke.

"Do you want to go to a restaurant or something, or just back to my house?" he asked.

"I don't know, we might as well go to a restaurant, I'm gonna have to go back to my apartment anyway," he shrugged.

Bakura furrowed his brow. "Why your apartment?"

Ryou looked at him with one brow raised. "I need to get some clothes. I can't keep walking around in your clothes, which, I don't know if you've noticed, are way too big for me. So if you want to 'keep me under surveillance'," he said this last part in a deeper tone, trying to mimic Bakura's voice. "Then I need to get stuff that fits me."

"Oh. Well you didn't have to mock me," he made a horrible attempt at looking offended and sniffed, turning his head away in a dramatic manner.

Ryou rolled his eyes. "Drama queen."

Bakura's head snapped back to Ryou. "Drama queen? I'll show you a dr-"

"HEY BAKURA!"

The two white haired males heads swiveled to see Marik and someone that resembled him closely walking over to them, the one Ryou had never seen before sporting a large bandage on his hand. He was the one who had yelled. Bakura raised an eyebrow at him.

"What did you do, Mariku?" he asked.

Marik took the initiative and spoke first. "The microwave. 'Nothing major' he says. A _first degree_ burn covering the top and half of the bottom of his hand. Nothing major my a**! I should have known it would be worse than he said it was. You know how he constantly downplays things. Gah! You're so frustrating, Mariku!" The last sentence was directed to the taller tanned male. Mariku just rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"I didn't think it was that major," he grinned, looking Ryou up and down before whispering in Bakura's ear, making sure Ryou couldn't hear.

"So this is the little thing Marik says you're seeing hearts for?" he asked.

Bakura growled and whacked him upside the head, leaving Ryou wondering what had been said and if hitting people upside the head was a hobby of his, or if it was just these two. In all honesty, those two just had a knack for annoying him.

Mariku just grinned at the abuse. "So where are we going this fine day, my good thief?" he asked. Marik and Bakura both shot him warning glances, making subtle head gestures towards Ryou, who pretended not to notice. Mariku got the picture.

Ryou took this time to speak up. "We're wandering randomly, hoping we stumble across somewhere we can eat. Then I'm getting some clothes from my apartment because Bakura's clothes are huge."

"My clothes are not huge, you're just incredibly tiny!"

"I am not! I am normal stature, thank you very much," he turned his nose up at Bakura, but the effect was ruined by his amused smile.

Then Mariku got an idea. He leaned in to Marik's ear and started whispering. "I think it's about time we show little Ryou here 'Kura's phobia, don't you think? It's sure to give us all a good laugh," he chuckled under his breath. Marik snickered and nodded. They walked on in silence for a few minutes, watching the two white-haired males banter. Then Marik spoke, trying to hide his grin.

"DAMN, Mariku, look at the size of that spider!" he exclaimed, and Bakura's reaction was instantaneous. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he yelped, scrambling to the side and back as fast as he could. The expression of pure terror on his face was priceless as his head whipped around, looking for the nonexistent spider. Any wider and his eyes would have popped out and landed on the pavement. He was in an incredibly amusing defensive position, and he was so tense it was a wonder that his muscles didn't seize up.

While Ryou was at least trying to hide his laughter, Marik and Mariku were open guffawing at him, laughing so hard they were crying. After a moment, Bakura realized what they'd done and scowled, straightening up.

"You bastards! You know I hate spiders, it's not funny! You better sleep with one eye open for the next few months, or you're gonna wake up bald! Ra damn you, I hate you two so much. Stop laughing at me!" he was bright red, out of anger and embarrassment as he stormed ahead. Ryou jogged after him, giggling.

"I didn't know you were afraid of spiders," he proclaimed, eyes bright with amusement and curiosity. He had gotten the impression that Bakura wasn't afraid of anything, even more so knowing know who exactly he was. This was just too funny.

Bakura scowled. "I'm not afraid of them, I just hate them. Hate them with all my heart," he growled.

Ryou giggled. "Bakura, you were terrified. There's no doubting it, you're expression was priceless."

Bakura just growled again, scowling up a storm. Marik and Mariku were running to catch up with them, still recovering from their laughing fit.

Bakura turned his head in their direction. "You two. You two are dead, you hear me? Dead!"

Simultaneously, "Like I haven't heard that before."

It was kind of cool, really, how the two tanned males said it in sync and rolled their eyes at the same time. Even Bakura seemed kind of impressed.

"You two been rehearsing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking. Mariku flipped him off. Well, his first attempt was a fail for he tried to do it with his bandaged hand, but he had no problem using the other for a second try.

Ryou was too busy giggling to pay attention where he was going, and he proceeded to trip over his own feet and would have fallen on his face if not for Bakura rushing forward and catching him. They sat there for a few seconds, staring at each other, breath caught in their throats at the close proximity to each other, Bakura still supporting Ryou's weight. The moment was interrupted however by twin catcalls coming from the Egyptians behind them. Both albinos blushed and made a hasty retreat, standing up and looking around, clearing their throats uncomfortably as their bronzed companions grinned widely. Passerby smiled, amused.

Marik snickered. "Are you really so desperate to get a feel, 'Kura?" he grinned, and Bakura growled.

"What was I supposed to do, let him fall?" he asked, his right eye twitching.

Mariku decided to intervene. "Now, now, Marik, it wasn't necessarily for such a reason," he started, and Bakura looked happy for a moment that he was supporting him. At least until the bronzed jerk continued. "He could have just been seeing if Ryou had anything valuable in his pockets. You know how he likes to 'borrow' things," he mocked, an obviously fake serious expression on his face as Marik nodded, putting on the same face. Bakura picked up a rock that the two barely dodged.

"Jerks," he muttered, grabbing Ryou's hand and pulling Ryou with him as he walked away from the two he proclaimed to be 'jerks'. And Ryou was thrilled, because for once he had actually understood the meaning of one of the groups comments. Mariku was obviously referring to Bakura's title of 'Thief King'. He got it! And he was quite pleased with his understanding, reflected on the outside with the huge grin Bakura kept shooting confused glances to.


	2. Chapter 2

The four eventually made it to a small Japanese restaurant, and, upon entering, found that it was equipped with the classic Japanese low to the ground tables. Ryou's eyes lit up. He had never had an authentic Japanese eating experience before.

Upon noticing Ryou's thrilled expression, the other three smirked and chuckled. He really was just too adorable for his own good, and Mariku was starting to see why Bakura was attracted to this kid. Too bad Ryou was completely oblivious to his feelings. He was still trying to wrap his head around the whole '_this guy's a three thousand year old thief_,' thing.

After a few minutes of standing and talking about a couple of random things, a pretty young Japanese lady came up to them. "Hello," she said with a smile. "Welcome, and prepare for an authentic Japanese dining experience. If you'll just follow me, I'll seat you at your table. If you could take your shoes off first, thank you."

They removed their shoes, Marik almost falling over when Mariku 'accidentally' bumped into him, throwing his equilibrium off. To Mariku's disappointment, Marik managed to right himself, straightening and throwing a glare in his direction. Mariku just smirked, and his fellow Egyptian relented and gave a small smile too. Ryou and Bakura were still snickering about the short interval of flailing limbs required by Marik to keep his balance. They got glares too, although the smile was still on Marik's face.

Once their shoes were laid with the other shoes, the hostess led them to their table where they all sat down pretzel style, Bakura looking almost comical with his long legs all folded in on themselves. He looked down at himself and sat still for a moment before striking an exaggerated meditation pose and chanting '_ohm_,_'_ a few times. The rest of them laughed, and Ryou thought, 'I would have never expected a thief to be so good natured and humorous. But I suppose he's learned in his long life that you have to be to keep sane. I know I wouldn't be able to live life without having a few laughs and rolling with the punches'. Marik's voice interrupted Ryou's thought process as he addressed Bakura.

"Any particular reason you went monk on us there, my friend?" he asked with a grin. Bakura grinned right back.

"It just felt like a good moment to do it. And I was already cross-legged, so why not? Now, I'm hungry, so shut up and let me look at the menu, will you?"

Marik just smirked and shook his head as Mariku did the whole 'I'm going to pretend to yawn so I can put my arm around your shoulders' thing to him. He pretended not to notice, but there was a gleam in his eyes as he glanced sideways. He had been crushing on Mariku for a long time before Mariku decided to invade his hot tub. I'll give you one guess as to what happened _that_ night.

Bakura surfed through the entire menu, seeming to only glance at the names, which confused Ryou, but the two tanned males grins told him that they knew. Once he had gotten to the end of the menu, Bakura put it down and promptly announced that he knew what he was ordering. Ryou was severely confused.

"How? How can you know what you're ordering when you only glanced at the titles?" he asked, brow furrowed. Bakura thought his confusion was possibly the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.

"It's easy," Mariku said. "He's made a ritual out of only ordering things he can't pronounce," Bakura smiled and nodded as if that made perfect sense. Which it didn't. Not to Ryou, anyway.

"Why?" he asked.

Bakura laughed. "I guess it just happened after that one time us three," he nodded toward Marik and Mariku, "went to this restaurant, and I couldn't pronounce the dish. Those two dared me to order it anyway, even though I had no idea what it was, and it was _really_ good. So since then I just go through the menu looking for something that I can't read. It's become a habit at this point," he shrugged.

Marik smiled. "You should see him when he goes to a restaurant and he can pronounce everything. He gets all disappointed and mopes around. Until the food arrives. Then he forgets all about it and eats like a pig," he jabbed, aiming a sickly sweet smile at Bakura.

"I do not eat like a pig!"

"Like hell you don't!"

Bakura was about to retort when their waitress walked up, looking rather interested in the four good-looking males at the table. She quickly noted, however, Mariku's possessive arm around Marik's shoulder, and the flirty grin Marik was shooting at the other blonde and turned most of her attention over to Bakura and Ryou. "What will you boy's be ordering today?" she asked, obviously making a shameless attempt at a seductive tone. Too bad they were all gay. Marik, Ryou, and Mariku ordered, and Bakura just cheerfully pointed to his selection.

The food arrived quickly, and Bakura's unknown dish turned out to be some kind of meat substance with some sprouts and other greens. They all watched eagerly as he took the first bite carefully. (He struggled with the chopsticks for a minute but eventually just took one into his hand and stabbed his food with it. Effective enough.) He chewed and a slow smile spread across his face. Once he swallowed he pumped his fists into the air in a victorious manner. The three at his table and a few others at the tables around them laughed when he spoke loudly. "My luck with intricately named food holds!" With his expression you'd think he just won the election for president.

Ryou shook his head. "I'm glad you're so thrilled with yourself, th- Bakura," he said. He had almost slipped and said 'Thief King,' but had saved himself. Thankfully the others didn't notice his slipup. He wasn't quite ready to let Bakura know that he was aware of who he was yet.

Eventually they all finished their food, Bakura extremely happy that he had yet to find an unpronounceable dish that he didn't enjoy, and they were ready to head over to Ryou's apartment to get his clothes.


	3. Chapter 3

"_So, where's your apartment?" Mariku asked._

"_Not far," Ryou replied, before grinning mischievously. "You'll love my pet tarantula," he put on an innocent face as he turned to see Bakura's reaction. He stopped dead and his eyes went wide as he stared at the younger albino._

"_What?_" he asked. Ryou burst out laughing.

"Come on Bakura! Do I really look like the type to keep a spider as a pet? I'm just taunting you. I'm not as sweet as I look you know," he grinned and resumed his walk as Bakura visibly relaxed. The blondes, however, kept laughing when they realized what their devious little companion had done. Maybe he _wasn't_ as innocent as he seemed. They looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. '_We could have some fun with this one_.'

"You're a jerk, you know that?" Bakura scowled, although he kept walking with him. Ryou just smiled. It was kind of fun knowing how to get a rise out of someone approximately 3000 years older than him. Hell, he was getting a rise out of the Thief King himself! Ryou still couldn't quite believe Bakura's true identity. '_Oh god,_' Ryou thought. _'Did I really just think 'his true identity'? It makes me think of a bad mystery novel. Of course, that's kind of what all this feels like… maybe I should write a book and change the names around. That would be entertaining. Especially if Bakura read it. Oh how I'd love to see _that_ expression. _

Ryou started to giggle as he imagined that, and eventually it turned into full blown laughter, getting so intense that he ended up doubled over while the three walking with him stopped and looked at him, then each other, trying to figure out what was so funny.

"Ryou…?" Bakura started, severely confused, and when Ryou looked up and it only made him laugh harder because the expression was almost identical to the one he'd just been imagining.

As he gasped for air between fits of hysterical laughter, passerby had stopped being passerby and stood there watching, most of them grinning and laughing a bit themselves. They didn't understand what was funny, but the sight of the boy doubled over with his three companions sporting severely confused expressions was a humorous sight in itself.

The spectators really started laughing when Mariku got impatient, a common occurrence. He stalked forward and picked Ryou up bridal style, earning a yelp from the breathless boy. He proceeded to walk off, a silent cue for Marik and Bakura to follow. Marik was laughing good naturedly, but Bakura was having a different reaction.

He knew it was completely harmless, that it didn't mean anything. He knew that Mariku was simply trying to make progress and was sick of waiting for the fit of laughter to stop. But even knowing this, Bakura couldn't stop the angry pangs of jealousy coursing through him. _He_ wanted to be the one to carry Ryou._ He _wanted to be the one Ryou looked up at with that adorable bewildered expression. He wanted it to be _his _neck Ryou wrapped his arms around to steady himself as he was swept off his feet, and _he _wanted to be the one to do the sweeping. His jealousy was strong enough to quickly override the sudden thoughts that sprung up, mostly consisting of, _When did I get so possessive?_ and _When did my feelings for this kid get so strong?_

Marik looked over and saw Bakura's expression and the slight twitch in his right eye, and hurried forward to tell Mariku to put Ryou down.

Mariku looked to the side as Marik started whispering in his ear. "Mariku. Put Ryou down. 'Kura's really jealous and he's trying to kill you with his eyes right now."

Ryou only heard two words. 'Kura's' and 'jealous'. When he looked back at Bakura, with a little strain on his neck, mind you, he looked livid, and his right eye, the one with the scar under it was twitching slightly. He squeaked a bit in surprise when Mariku suddenly moved to put him down, and when he was firmly back on his feet, Ryou looked back, and the livid expression was gone. Ryou's brow furrowed, and he fell back to walk in step with Bakura.

"Hey, what was that about?" he asked, looking up at his not-quite-doppelganger. Bakura decided to play dumb, which was strange for him. He'd never hidden feelings from anyone before.

"What was what about?" he asked, blinking.

"When Mariku picked me up, I looked back at you, and you had this livid expression on your face."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did. Your eye was twitching too."

"Which eye?"

"The one with the scar under it, your right one."

Bakura's eyes widened at that. "You've noticed my scar?" he asked, reaching up to touch it almost subconsciously.

"Yeah."

"When?"

"I think it was about when you were changing my sling. Why?"

"No reason, it's just… not many people ever notice it, especially not with my skin tone. If I was tan like I used to be, that'd be a different story but-" suddenly he cut himself off, shaking his head and looking forward.

Now it was Ryou's turn to play dumb. "You used to be tan?" he asked.

"Um, yeah," he paused before continuing. "Last summer I spent a lot of time at the beach and I got more tanned than I usually am. It made my scar more prominent," he lied through his teeth. Well, the last sentence wasn't a lie. It _was_ more noticeable when he was tanner. It just hadn't been from the beach.

Unfortunately for Bakura, Ryou hadn't been thrown off of their original topic by the distraction. "So?"

"So… what?" Bakura asked, hoping to just get Ryou to drop it. He wasn't sure why he didn't want Ryou to know how he felt about him, but he did know that he was worried, for whatever reason, that he didn't return the feelings.

"So, why did you look like you were going to kill Mariku when he picked me up?" Ryou was starting to get impatient. Fortunately for Bakura, however, he looked up and saw that they had arrived at his apartment. "Oh! This is it. Should I just run up quick, or do you guy's want to come in?" he asked, and Bakura smiled, grateful for the change of topic.

Marik grinned. "Why, I wanna come in of course!"

Ryou smiled. "Of course you do. Well, come on, we won't take long, I just have to get some clothes and we'll get going."

"Hey Bakura, come look at this," Marik said, he and Mariku standing close together, both looking at the picture in Marik's hand. Ryou was in his room, gathering what he needed and putting it in a small suitcase. He was taking longer than he would normally, given he only had one arm to work with.

"What is it?" the thief asked, walking over and staring, a smile forming on his lips as he took in the image. There was twelve year old Ryou, posing for the camera with a huge smile on his face, standing with two females. There was a woman slightly behind him with a hand on his shoulder, looking to be in her late twenties, and she was obviously Ryou's mother, with the same white hair and similar features. There was also a girl who seemed to be a bit younger than him, with one arm looped around his middle. She was almost identical to Ryou, the only outstanding differences were that her hair was a bit shorter with a pink streak in the front, and her eyes were bright emerald green. The three looked happy to be with each other.

Ryou walked out to see all three of them huddled over that picture, smiling. "Having fun?" he asked, and the three of them started, looking up at him.

"Hey Ryou, who's this?" Mariku asked, holding out the picture. He took it, and they huddled around him, looking with him. A sad smile made it's way onto his face.

"That's mom, and my little sister Amane. I remember that day. Dad was holding the camera. It was Amane's tenth birthday. Mom and I had just gotten done baking the cake, we were throwing her a surprise party. Dad had taken her out for an ice cream to give us time to set everything up. I remember the mad dash to clean everything up when we saw them pulling into the driveway. We kept slipping on flour we had spilled on the floor and stuff. We checked like ten times to make sure we hadn't overlooked anything 'incriminating' that she might have seen when they came in," he chuckled. "All the trouble was worth it, though, when we saw her face. She was ecstatic. Actually she almost choked me with the hug she gave me, and I think mom could've said the same," he pointed at something in the picture. "You see that little pink smudge on my face? That's icing. Amane decided to get cheeky and smash a piece of cake in my face. I guess I missed a spot when I washed it off."

"Where are they now?" Mariku asked. Sadness made it's way into Ryou's gaze as he touched the faces of his mother and sister, as if he could melt right through the picture and back to that day.

"They died, a few years later. They were driving home from a shopping trip when a drunk driver slammed into them. Flipped the car and everything. I was home with Dad. He left by the time I was fifteen. Haven't heard from him since."

It was silent for a time, before Ryou spoke again. "I'm ready to go, my bag's packed."

That broke the silence, and they all started moving again, leaving and making their way back to Bakura's house.


End file.
